Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele set for PSG move as Kylian Mbappe dispute rumbles on
The French forward is available for a cut-price €50 million until the end of the month and is closing on a move to the Parc des Princes
Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is expected to sign for Paris Saint-Germain in the next few days and could turn out to be a replacement for international team-mate Kylian Mbappe.
Dembele signed for Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 after Neymar left for PSG. His early years at Camp Nou were interrupted by injury, but he has become an important player under Xavi and signed a new two-year contract in 2022.
That deal is up next summer and in it, he has a release clause which allows him to leave for €50 million before the end of this month.
With Lionel Messi having already left and Mbappe's future uncertain, PSG are now set to activate that clause and sign the 26-year-old, who is comfortable with both feet and can operate on either flank.
He would link up with former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, who left Camp Nou just before his arrival, in a summer of changes at PSG.
Marco Asensio, Manuel Ugarte, Lucas Hernandez, Cher Ndour and Lee Kang-in have all signed for the French champions this window, but Mbappe could yet leave.
The France forward has been training with the reserves in a standoff with the club following a huge offer from Saudi Arabia, but is believed to only be interested in a move to Real Madrid as he enters the last year of his contract.
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PSG want Mbappe to either leave for a fee this summer or sign a new contract. And according to ESPN, a move could be completed later in the window.
Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.